Senior Database Administrator at NZ Qualifications Authority, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Senior Database Administrator
• Permanent
• Wellington Based

We are looking for a Senior Database Administrator to join our Systems Team within the Information Services group. The Systems Team are the custodians of our platforms, they ensure that:

• NZQA environments are maintained according to good practices
• services meet their availability and performance requirements
• updates are supported through the full Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
• issues are resolved in a timely manner
• any constraints in the NZQA environment are understood and managed

Whakatairangatia ngā kete o te mātauranga ki te ao mārama! E te tai whakarunga, e te tai whakararo – nau piki mai, nau kake mai ki te Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa.

May the baskets of knowledge (education) be brought into the world of light. We welcome one and all to join us at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

About the role 

This role works closely with several IS teams from application development through to infrastructure support. The role also has a close working relationship with key application owners from across the wider business.

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Management of development, test, and production databases
• Supporting project and operational application development teams
• Carrying out testing and tuning in databases for multiple environments
• Ensuring production applications meet availability, reliability, and performance targets
• Working within project teams to ensure new applications and services are deployed according to good practices and can be supported by operational teams
• Providing access to good quality data and robust data sources to key business areas in order to enable organisational delivery.
• Working with AWS Cloud services, including RDS, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Terraform, AWS CDK, and Python‑based automation
• Contributing to cloud‑native solution design and supporting NZQA's cloud platform evolution
• Leveraging IaC approaches (Terraform and CDK) to support deployment and management of database and platform services
• Azure experience is also welcomed and considered an advantage

NZQA is in the early stages of moving to a DevSecOps oriented approach to application delivery with the implementation of pipelines to manage application deployments from development through to production release.

Skills and experience

If you have practical experience building and administering multiple environments from a database perspective, scripting skills, have a strong customer focus with a detail-oriented work approach, and are positive and energetic with the ability to remain calm under pressure then this is the role for you!

Ngā Painga o NZQA | Why choose NZQA

Join NZQA and help lift quality and trust across Aotearoa New Zealand's education system through world‑class assessment, quality assurance and qualifications. We are passionate about ensuring learners' achievements are recognised, allowing people to fully participate in employment, society and their communities.

NZQA is committed to lifelong learning and the diverse communities we serve. We welcome people from all backgrounds and provide a supportive environment for Māori and Pacific staff, including active networks that help guide and strengthen our strategic direction. 

What we can offer:

• A supportive team / whanau environment
• An opportunity to be involved in the establishment of DevSecOps practices
• A role with lots of variety
• Development and career progression opportunities
• To find out more click here NZQA Staff Benefits

Apply Now!

For more information about this role and NZQA please refer to the job description, NZQA's Customer Charter and Organisational Values. 

If you would like to discuss further, please call Tom Bran on 0274 521 691 or email to Tom.Bran@nzqa.govt.nz.

Applications close at 5.00 pm on 21 May 2026.